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Virginia Home Grown

Now that we’ve had enough cold temperatures to enable the plants to go dormant, you can mulch them with pine needles or straw. Cover them loosely, but completely to protect the crowns from the severe cold of January and February.

Have the soil from your vegetable garden tested. As a result of this summer’s mild weather, many gardens produced an abundance of plant material. That good growth may have depleted your soil of some valuable nutrients. A simple test now will allow you to correct deficiencies in time for next spring’s garden.

Use as many of the fallen leaves as possible. Shredded, they make an excellent mulch for landscape beds. Contained and allowed to compost, they will produce a wonderful soil additive for next summer’s garden. If you’re down to just a few, mulch them on the lawn with the mower to increase the organic matter content of your soil.

The final Virginia Home Grown of the season is upon us. Amy explores a test garden of re-blooming Iris flowers at the Goochland campus of Reynolds Community College. Peggy tours a private home and garden that was created entirely by using Japanese design elements. The Tip from Maymont explains how to collect seed from straight species or native plants in your garden.

Plant a cover crop in your vegetable garden. Once you finished with your garden for the fall, a light seeding of winter rye or crimson clover will help protect your soil through the winter. Cover crops not only prevent soil erosion, but they also make the garden an attractive part of the landscape until you’re ready to till it into the soil in late winter.

Transition your houseplants to move back indoors for the winter. Hosing off the plant with a gentle spray of water can help clean the leaves and activate insects making them easier to see. Make the move less traumatic by bringing plants in at night and putting them back out during the mild days. In a week they’ll be ready to spend the winter in the warmth of your home.

Daffodils, crocus and tulips are among the most popular bulbs to plant in early October. Since all three of these have different size bulbs, the rule of thumb is to plant bulbs three times deeper than the height of the bulb. Bulbs planted in early fall have time to set roots and get acclimated before going through their cold dormant period of winter.

Amy visits with Katherine Kane and takes a tour of Waterperry Farm in Free Union, a private garden designed and cultivated for the past 25 years by the homeowner. Peggy will talk with Chris Mullins to learn more about hydroponics and vertical gardening at Virginia State University. Chris will also demonstrate how to build a home hydroponics setup.

If you suspect grub damage to your lawn, September is the best time to control them. Right now grubs are young and actively feeding on grass roots. The folks at your favorite garden center can recommend a product that best fits your situation.

As leaves start to fall, consider using them as mulch or starting a compost pile. Leaves are the natural mulch that blankets the ground in our forests insulating tree roots and preventing erosion. However, if contained and allowed to decompose, they produce a wonderful soil amendment called compost.